How the AL West was won in 2011: Seattle Mariners

March 22, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Reigning AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez, right, led the surprising Seattle Mariners to the 2011 AL West title, rebounding from a 101-loss disaster to clinch on the season's final night against Oakland.Click on the photo to see how this was possible. Remember, we're looking into the future here, with each team's best-case scenario presented. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

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Ichiro Suzuki, the Seattle right fielder who will land in two halls of fame, hit .350 to win his third AL batting title, stole 44 bases and scored a career-best 130 runs to lead the Mariners' surprising offense. The M's had managed only 513 runs as team in 2010. Ichiro also realized a longtime dream by serving as the emergency closer and saving a couple of games in September. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

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New Mariners manager Eric Wedge had won AL Manager of the Year honors before, with the Cleveland Indians in 2007. Wedge proved in 2011 that if you can win in Cleveland, you can win anywhere (take that, LeBron). Wedge played on the Mariners underdog status in molding a tight-knit club featuring two Hall of Famers, with a bold mixture of veterans and youth supporting their efforts. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

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Ex-Angel Chone Figgins was smiling again in 2011, and with good reason. He moved back to third base and shook off his 2010 disaster (.259, 114 strikeouts) in his second season with the Mariners. Figgy had much better rapport with his new manager; taking to batting second, he batted .325 in winning his sixth AL West title in the past seven seasons. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO

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Finally working with some run support, Felix Hernandez rolled off 22 victories in 2011, easily repeating as Cy Young Award winner with nine more victories than in 2010. Seattle needed every one of those victories in its narrow AL West triumph. Hernandez also moved past the Angels' Jered Weaver to win the strikeout title, after falling one short the year before. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO

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Rescued from Oakland, where they had misused him for years, designated hitter Jack Cust rewarded the Mariners with a monster year in 2011. He slugged 27 home runs, drove in 96, and had a .402 on-base percentage. He'd shown he could do this if he got 500 ABs while in Oakland, but the Mariners were the ones who let him be all he could be. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO

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Even Milton Bradley was fully on board with the Mariners' new program in 2011. He didn't quite live up to his $12 million salary, but Bradley wasn't the automatic out he was in the previous season (.205). Better still, he was no longer a huge distraction, stayed out of disputes with umpires and fans, Sure, it was the last year of his contract, but that was a coincidence, right? TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO

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With Mariners closer David Aardsma coming off offseason hip surgery, the smartest thing new manager Eric Wedge did all year was hand the baseball to Brandon League in the ninth inning. The former Blue Jay embraced the role, recording 42 saves, and when Aardsma did come back, it was as League's setup man. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO

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Mariners catcher Miguel Olivo, the prize free-agent acquisition in an otherwise quiet winter, shook off some nagging injuries to give Seattle a solid 2011 behind the plate. He had failed badly in a previous Mariners stint (2004-05), but came back as a veteran, and his leadership helped the young M's staff immeasurably in 2011. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

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The Mariners not only scored runs for Felix Hernandez this time, they supported the other pitchers who had done well in 2010 but got no support. Taking full advantage was left-hander Justin Vargas, who became 2011's C.J. Wilson and won 18 games for the Mariners. It was a far cry from '10, when Vargas went 9-12 despite a 3.78 ERA. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO

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Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak broke through in 2011, living up to his prospect status after a suspect 2010. Smoak slugged 32 home runs and controlled his big swing to cut down on his strikeout rate. He would've easily won AL Rookie of the Year honors, had not the Rangers and Mariners let him flail and fail so much in 2010. TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; GETTY IMAGES PHOTO

Reigning AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez, right, led the surprising Seattle Mariners to the 2011 AL West title, rebounding from a 101-loss disaster to clinch on the season's final night against Oakland.Click on the photo to see how this was possible. Remember, we're looking into the future here, with each team's best-case scenario presented.TEXT BY EARL BLOOM; ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

The American League West, despite being considered the league's weakest division, saw its 2010 champion represent the AL in the World Series.

The Angels, who had won the division the previous five seasons, picked a bad time for an off-year (80-82).

Click on the photo to get started.

The Seattle Mariners, touted to win the division, lost 101 games instead.

The low-budget Oakland Athletics snuck past the Angels into second place by a game (81-81).

That's right: The champion Texas Rangers (90-72) were the division's only team above .500 in 2010. Four AL teams won more regular-season games than the Rangers, but none won more when it counted, in the playoffs.

But all four AL West teams start fresh when the bell rings on March 31.

Since every team expects to win the division when they report to spring training – tough to sell tickets otherwise – I have decided to put a positive spin on my division preview.

How the AL West was won in 2011, a four-part series which starts with the Mariners, will explore the best-case scenario for each franchise. It's the glass-half-full view, where even the Mariners can win.

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